RYAN GARCIA CAPTURES INTERIM WBC LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD TITLE WITH BODY SHOT KNOCKOUT OF LUKE CAMPBELL

Published by Shawn C.

Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) of Victorville,
Calif. captured the interim WBC Lightweight Championship with a
seventh-round body-shot knockout against Luke Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) of
Yorkshire, United Kingdom at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The bout was stopped at 1:58 of the aforementioned round. The fight was
streamed live exclusively on DAZN
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in more
than 200 countries and territories, including the U.S., Mexico and the UK.

“This is the kind of fight where superstars are made,” said Oscar De La Hoya,
Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy. “Down on the mat early for the first time
in his career, Ryan got up, rallied, broke down his man and got the
knockout. Everyone in the lightweight division should consider themselves
on notice. 2021 will be the year of Ryan García.”

“My performance definitely showed a lot of people who I really am,” said Ryan
Garcia. “Going into this fight I wanted to show people that you are not
what people call you. You are what you choose to be. I chose to be a
champion tonight. I didn’t let anything stop me from being a champion
tonight. Even when he dropped me, I knew that couldn’t stop me from being
champion.”

“I got too excited in the moment,” Garcia said of being knocked down for
the first time. “I felt I could just walk him down, but he ended up
cracking me. So, I had to adjust and calm down. I was a little dizzy with
the knockdown, but I wasn’t worried. He’s not used to going forward, so I
just knew I had to cover up. He never fights coming forward, so I knew he
would back up throughout the fight. I’m naturally a counterpuncher. But
today I showed I can take it to somebody and knock them out. God told me
that it would end with a body shot, and that’s what happened.”

“He’s very heavy handed,” said Luke Campbell. “Even when I was blocking the
shots, I could feel them. That was the hardest shot I was ever hit with. I
tried and tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I felt him coming on, and I was
moving back. And when I moved back, my body relaxed a little bit and that’s
the exact time he hit me.”

In the co-main event, Roger “The Kid” Gutierrez (25-3-1, 20 KOs) of
Maracaibo, Venezuela scored an upset 12-round unanimous decision victory
against Rene “El Gemelo” Alvarado of Managua, Nicaragua. Gutierrez won with
three scores of 113-112.

“I am so happy for this victory,” said Roger Gutierrez. “I did this for my
mother. There’s not much more I can say. I had to look for the knockout. I
knew I had to do that to win. I want to thank my manager Rafael Moron, the
WBA and Golden Boy. This is for Venezuela and for my children.”

Felix “El Gemelo” Alvarado (36-2, 31 KOs) of Managua, Nicaragua defended
his IBF Junior Flyweight World Championship with a technical knockout
victory against former 105-pound champion DeeJay Kriel (16-2-1, 8 KOs) of
Gauteng, South Africa. The fight was stopped at 1:39 of the 10th round.

“I knew this would be a tough fight,” said Felix Alvarado. “He was a
mandatory challenger and a former world champion, so I knew it would be
tough. I got a bit tired, but that was because of his experience. I also
dropped him with a hook, and I didn’t even expect for a punch like that to
land. But rather than keep looking for that punch, I kept pushing him to
the ropes to wear him down. I’m very happy to obtain this win because it is
a dream come true for the Alvarado brothers to fight on the same card.”

Welterweight prospect Raul “Cougar” Curiel (9-0, 7 KOs) of Tampico, Mexico
scored a second-round technical knockout victory against Ramses Agaton
(22-13-3,
12 KOs) of Tlalnepantla, Mexico in a scheduled 10-round fight. The fight
was stopped at 1:16 of the aforementioned round.

“I felt really good and strong,” said Raul Curiel. “I felt that my opponent
was a bit heavy. But I’m happy that I was able to deliver a great
performance. I’m ready for any opponent that they bring to me at
welterweight.”

Sean Garcia (6-0, 2 KOs) of Victorville, Calif. opened the DAZN broadcast
with a four-round unanimous decision win against Rene Marquez (5-6, 2 KOs)
of Scottsbluff, Nebraska in a lightweight bout. One judge scored the bout a
36-36 draw, which was overruled by two scores of 39-37.

“There were so many things going as we went into this fight,” said Sean
Garcia. “I was a bit nervous. I came off of a year-and-half layoff. I had
to find my distance. It was also hard to land shots on him because of his
unorthodox style. Now, I just have to keep training hard and learn from my
mistakes.”

Unified world champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn (7-1, 2 KOs) of Baltimore,
Maryland scored an eight-round unanimous decision win against Ashleigh Curry
(8-14-4, 1 KO) of Saint Joseph, Missouri in a cruiserweight bout.

Alex Rincon (8-0, 6 KOs) of Dallas, Texas scored a six-round unanimous
decision win against Sergio Gonzalez (6-8-1, 2 KOs) of Tamaulipas, Mexico
in a middleweight battle. Rincon won with three scores of 60-54.

Tristan Kalkreuth (7-0, 5 KOs) of Duncanville, Texas scored a knockout win
against Jorge Martinez (4-6, 1 KO) of Guadalajara, Mexico in a scheduled
four-round cruiserweight battle. The fight was halted at :50 of the first
round.

Hawaiian prospect Asa Stevens (1-0) made a successful pro debut with a
four-round unanimous decision victory against Francisco Bonilla (6-8-3, 3
KOs) of Chihuahua, Mexico in a super bantamweight bout. Stevens won with
scores of 58-55, 58-56 and 58-55.

Garcia vs. Campbell was a 12-round fight for the interim WBC Lightweight
World Championship presented by Golden Boy in association with Matchroom
Boxing. The event was sponsored by Hennessy “Never Stop. Never
Settle,” “BetOnline – Your Online Sportsbook Experts,” and O’Reilly Auto
Parts. Better Parts, Better Prices…everyday! The fight took take place on
Jan. 2, 2021 at American Airlines Center in Dallas and was streamed live
exclusively on DAZN
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in more
than 200 countries and territories, including the U.S., Mexico and the UK.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com
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and DAZN.com
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